Lubricator



Patented Get. l2, 19433 STATS LUEZRIEATR Frank B. arvuot, Fort Wayne, lud., essignorto Bowser, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind., o corporation oi Indiano l (Helms. l

This invention relates to a, lubricetor; more speciilcally, it relates to a lubricator which accurately controls small ilows oi lubricent to bearings.

An object of the invention is to provide a. lubricatcr which will dispense lubricant at a. very slov,7 but controlled rete of iow.

A further object o the invention is to provide a lubricator which is readily regulated to dis pense various small amounts oi oll.

Another object or the invention is to provide a, lubricator in which the how regulating element or valve is c spring.

Yet a further object of the invention is to proviele e lubricator of the kind. described in which the spring may be compressed more or less to regulate the rate of iced of the lubricant.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a lubricator in which the discharge is visible and which is adjustable to vary the discharge.

It is another object of the invention to provide a control valve which comprises e. coiled spring which is compressed to various degrees to veryr the open areas between the adjacent coils.

Another object of the invention is to provide s control valve which comprises e. helical spring having a flattened cross section.

These and other objects will become apparent from e study of this specliication and the drawu ings which are attached hereto end made a Dart hereof and in which:

Figure l is e sectional view of the lubricator connected to a. bearing.

Figure 2 is a. View partially in section show lng the spring type valve.

This application isl e division of application Serial Number 452,513, filed July 27, 1942, how ''atent No. 2,435,832.

The lubricator, generally designated by the numeral t3, has its outlet i23 connected to e bearing i for o shaft il or other device to be lubrlcated and is also connected to o. tenir or some other suitable source of lubricant under pressure by a line di. A plug cock 'll is disposed in the line l adjacent the lubricator 43. The latter comprises c body l@ which is provided with a tapped inlet ci and e spring or valve chamber 83 which is connected to the inlet by a bore lili. A discharge opening 8l extends downwardly from chamber S3 while an enlarged and threaded bore 89 extends upwardly from the chamber and merges with en even larger, threaded bore Si.

A packing nut 93v is received in bore el and is provided with e smooth internal bore gli to relil Sii)

it ceive the adjusting screw @e which carries a reduced, cylindrical extension el et its lower end. A iam nut @il is received on the adjusting screw and is adapted to be drawn up against the nach ing nut to hold the screw adjustment.

The lower foce ci the extension el rests upon e plug lill oi neoprene or other suitable yieldable material while a perforated washer w3 oi' the same material is disposed on the bottom of chamber til, the hole l in the washer being in alignment with the discharge opening el. The control valve or spring lill is confined between these two washers and the ends of the spring ere sealed ageinst passage of liquid around there..

As shown in Figure 2, the spring or valve comprises a helical coil of spring Wire which is liettenecl in cross section to provide liet upper und lower faces itil, ill on each coil. There is cccordingly provided by this valve a helical metering orice it which has substantially parallel upper and lower wells. By compressing the spring, the oriice is reduced in area and vice versa.

The ends lib and iii' of the spring are faced oil. so es to be perpendicular to the longitudinal exis oi the spring to eiiorcl goed seats on the plug and washer lili, w3.

i threaded projection il@ is formed on the lower end o the body le and an internally threaded discharge member itl is screwed thereon. This member is made of transparent materlel such es the plastic known es Luclte so that the drops of oil passing between the discharge 'tube tl and the discharge bore itt lead ing to the bearing will be visible to en observer. The member iti is formed with a chamber lZ between ducts lll and i223 in which oil will collect in the event duct itt or one connecting there with lbecorlries plugged or ii the rate of flow through valve iil'l is too creat.

The lower end itil of the member is threaded externally so es to enter a threaded hole in the bearing 92E.

As shown in Figure l, the lower end lai of the body e3 is tapered downwardly from the periphery of il@ tov/ord the outlet 0E discharge duct 67 to prevent the oil from spreading in s. lm over this surface.

pemtion When the line lll has been connected to a. sultatble source of oil under pressure, the cock'. il is opened to permit the otv of oil to the lubrlcator. Thereafter, the lubrlcetor is adjusted by turning the adjusting screw to compress or relieve spring velve itl until the required number oi? assise? drops per minute are seen through the transparent member itl.

The valve |07 is usually of steel wire having eight coils and is of .030 X .055 cross section with 1,43" minimum inside diameter and about Vi" outside diameter. It is about V2" long when free and 1/4," long when closed. With a spring valve.

setting of the spring valve determines the rate of flow oi the oil through the helical orifice lit. The oil which passes through the orice will move downwardly through hole H35 in washer i03, through duct Si to the end thereof Where it forms into a drop and falls through the charnber m5 and ilows into the duct 23 and thence to the bearing i20.

'The washer or plug lill seals the upper end of the chamber but should any oil escape it would be blocked off by the packing 0i. The washer |03 seals the lower end of the chamber outside of the spring so that no lubricant will luy-pass the orifice l i3.

Once a setting is obtained, the jam nut 09 is tightened against the packing nut 053 to hold the adjusting screw.

The pressure at the lubricator should be about 5 p. s. i. for eflicient operation. The viscosity of the oil also effects the rate of iow through the spring valve so that a lower rate of iiow can be attained with a heavy oil than with a iight oil.

It is obvious that various changes may be made in the form, structure and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the lnvenm tion. Accordingly, applicant does not desire to be limited to the specic embodiment disclosed herein primarily for purposes of illustration; but instead, he desires protection falling fairly Within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a lubricant feeding device, an inlet duct, an outlet duct, a chamber connecting said doom, a helical rate of flow control element in said chamber, disposed to separate said ducts, said element being so positioned in said chamber as to cause lubricant to pass through the eiement in substantially a radial direction.

Z. In a feeding device, an inlet duct, an outlet duct, a chamber connecting said ducts, a helicai rate of ow control element in said chamber, said element being compressible to vary the rate of now through it and disposed to separate said ducts.

3. In a. feeding device, an inlet duct, an outlet duct. a chamber coruiecting said ducts, a. compressible, substantially helical rate of ow control element in said chamber, disposed to separate said ducts, and means for adjustably compressing said element to change the area. of the open space in said element to vary the rate of flow through it.

4. In a feeding device, an inlet duct, an outlet duct, a chamber connecting said ducts, and a helical rate oi low control element in said chamber, said element being in a general form of a cylinder' having a attened cross section would so as to form an orce having substantially parallel upper and lower limiting surfaces, said ele-1 ment being disposed to separate said ducts.

5. In a feeding device, a. valve chamber, a helical rate of ow control element having inner and outer sides, disposed in said chamber and sealed at its ends against said chamber, an inlet duct communicating with one sideoi said element and an outlet duct communicating with the other side, whereby liquid may pass from the inlet tothe outlet duct through the orifice formed by the helix at a rate controlled in part by the size of said orifice.

6. yIn a feeding device, a valve chamber, a heli cal rate of ow control element having inner and outer sides, disposed in said chamber and sealed at its ends against said chamber, an inlet duct communicating with one side of said element and an outlet duct communicating with the other side, whereby liquid may pass from the inlet to the outlet duct through the orice formed by the helix, and means for reducing the eiectlve area of said orifice.

7. In a feeding device, a valve chamber, a helical rate of flow control element having inner and outer sides, disposed in said chamber and sealed at its ends against said chamber, an inlet duct communicating with one side of said element and an outlet duct communicating with the other side, 'whereby liquid may pass from the inlet to the outlet duct through the orice formed by the helix, and means for changing the effective area of said orifice, comprising means for compressing or expanding said element axially.

FRANK B. HARVUOT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the lleof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 805,079 Koehler et al. Nov. 21, 1905 1,813,122 Moore July 7, 1931 1,905,527 Thomas et ai Apr. 25, 1933 2,302,097 Beckman Nov. 17, 1942 2,308,865 Davis Jan. 19, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 420,080 Germany Apr. 21, 1926 

